We recently connected with Lynda Cash and have shared our conversation below.

Lynda , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about how you went about setting up your own practice and if you have any advice for professionals who might be considering starting their own?

The journey to starting my own private practice began in August of 2014. During this time, I was separated from my second husband and my mother had passed away earlier that year. I was experiencing financial hardships with two sons in college and being the primary breadwinner in the home. The following month after I had opened up my private practice, I experience a major health issues. What was supposed to be a one day outpatient surgery landed me in the hospital needing three surgeries over a period of 27 days.

One of the main challenges I experience after becoming a license therapist was having the capital needed to open the business and sustain my personal expenses until the business was able to take care of my financial needs. Fortunately, for me, I received a small lump sum of money from my ex-husband’s 401k retirement plan which allowed me to maintain my living expenses until I was able to build up my clientele. In the beginning money was extremely tight. There were times where I had to wait upwards of six weeks to two months for one insurance payout. There were several times in the earlier years, when I was not sure that the business would even survive. With lots of faith, much prayer and the supports of my sons, I can happily say that I am still in existence and thriving to this day.

The healing process required extensive home care nursing for the next three months and six months of medical care in order to heal properly. This was a very stressful time for my sons and I due to the limited amount of support we had at the time. Fortunately, my sons and I have always been supportive of each other’s goals and dreams and continued to focus on building my private practice. Thankfully, my healing process was successful. I was released back to work after a couple weeks and was able to continue building the practice as planned.

After solidifying and insurance contract in November of that year, my private practice grew swiftly to the point where I had outgrown my office after about two months. I relocated to a much larger facility in January of 2015 and offered both of my sons jobs working with me. Both sons agreed to leave their current positions to come and work with me while I built the private practice. My older son worked as my office manager and my youngest son handle the finances. With the support and insight of the three of us , we were able to build a successful private practice over the years.

One of the many lessons I learned while building the practice was to remain consistent with how I provided services and flexible when it comes to meeting client’s service needs. Another important area for me as a professional was to make sure that I kept myself educated and well informed regarding current treatments and trends within my professional field. When it comes to my own professional self-care, some of the lessons that I had to learn was to make sure that I established healthy professional boundaries. In other words, not wanting more for or investing more than my clients wanted or invested in themselves. I believe that this was one of the hardest lessons I had to learn. Another hard lesson was to learn what my true value was as a professional therapist and the impact that I was making on the underserved community where I provided services. Lastly, what I believe to be one of the most important lessons for me was to make sure that I establish and maintain my own self-care plan. That meant making sure that I took time out for myself to restore mentally, physically and spiritually.

As I look back over the years, there are not too many things that I would have done differently. This journey has taught me endurance, perseverance and patience. Overall, the business has brought me a lot of joy, peace and fulfillment in life. I’ve had an opportunity to work with and serve some of the most phenomenal individuals and families over the years. I have been able to make a positive Influence on my peers, as well as with others in the community, who may or may not have had knowledge of how my profession provides services. I am grateful to have an opportunity to practice in a field that I am passionate about, and knowing that I have an opportunity to do my part in helping to make this world a better place to live in.

My advice to any young professionals who may be considering starting their own private practice is to lead with a sense of integrity, be courageous, focused and consistent. Remember to create an environment that is safe, nurturing and pleasant for all to experience.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Lynda K. Cash, MA, Licensed Married and Family Therapist. Born and raised in Detroit Michigan. Lynda is the ninth child of 11 children (7 girls, 4 boys) born to James and Ernestine Cash. Lynda is one of Detroit’s first paper girls starting just shy of her 10th birthday. She was one of the class speakers at Frank Cody High School in Detroit Michigan and went on to attend Oakland Community College in Oakland, Michigan where she earn her associates degree in general studies. After high school, Lynda worked as a cashier at Montgomery Ward department store in Southfield, Michigan and as a bank teller for Comerica Bank in Beverly Hills, Michigan before relocating to California in 1985. Lynda went on to pursue a career in social services, working as an eligibility worker in Pomona, California after five years with them Department of Social Services. During this time, Lynda met her first husband, the father of her two sons, in 1989 and later became the co-owner of Kate’s Home Program #1, #2 and #3, adult residential care facilities ‘s in Fontana, California. Throughout Lynda’s career, she has an independent contracts with the State of California’s Developmental Disabilities Area Board 12, contracted as a life quality assessment visitor and with Sacramento State University as a life quality assessment surveyor. Lynda has a 30+ year history of advocating for services and rights for persons with intellectual disabilities. Lynda has a teaching history working in the private sector, k thru 6 and working as a substitute teacher prior to obtain her masters degree in counseling at the University of Phoenix., Ontario, CA. Lynda completed her internship at A Better Tomorrow Treatment Center in Murietta, California and with the Inland, Behavioral Health and Services in San Bernardino, California. Lynda K Cash is the founder of Plan B… Therapy counseling service and has 15 years experience providing therapy services to families, couples and individuals throughout California.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

When it comes to success in this field, one of the main things I had to learn and remember to practice was keeping myself on the agenda. Practincing as a therapist requires a lot of time spent of listening and developing strategies and interventions to help client better manage their daily living needs, setting boundaries and establishing priorities. Often times, persons who work in the services industries often neglect themselves. As a family therapist in private practice, it is important that I find and maintain a healthy balance in life that allows me to make sure my needs, wants and likes are considered and/or met.

Any advice for managing a team?

The advice I have for managing a team and maintaining high moral is to operate with integrity and be consistent. When managing teams, it is important to access team members strengths and weaknesses and provide training and resources according to the response needs. Lastly, mangers should model/demonstrate the moral standard codes of the organization.

Contact Info:

• Website: psychology today.com
• Instagram: Lkcash22
• Facebook: Plan B Therapy
• Linkedin: Lynda K. Cash, LMFT
• Twitter: Lkmrealtherapy
• Other: Alma, Path Mental Health